Two former Fort Hood US soldiers were sentenced to prison for smuggling illegal immigrants into the country.
The two former US soldiers were convicted for their roles in a conspiracy to smuggle migrants past the US Border Patrol checkpoint while wearing their uniforms to avoid suspicion from the border authorities.
They were identified as 22-year old Emmanuel Oppongagyare and 19-year old Ralph Gregory Saint-Joie. They both pleaded guilty to their charges in August 2021.
Saint-Joie and Oppongagyare went before US District Judge Diana Saldana, who sentenced them to 13 and 21 months in prison after the two asked for forgiveness in which Saldana refused to accept on the ground that they worked hard to make their smuggling attempts successful.
According to the reports, the two former soldiers were arrested and the case began on June 13, 2021 after a police dog alerted authorities to the trunk.
The incident arose when Oppongagyare and Saint-Joie drove a sedan across the Hebbronville Border Patrol checkpoint where authorities asked them where they were going. When they were asked about their destination, they claimed to be traveling from McAllen to San Antonio.
A border patrol then asked them why they took a detour through that area, the men then blamed the GPS directions.
It was almost a successful smuggling attempt since both two soldiers were wearing uniforms at that time. However, during the conversation, a police dog alerted the trunk where the authorities found the two smuggled illegal immigrants.
Moreover, amid the investigation, the federal prosecutors discovered that the two worked for another soldier after recruiting them to help transport migrants. Oppongagyare was the driver and claimed that he was given $100 for gas and would be paid more at the destination in San Antonio.
The soldiers who reportedly recruited them were also arrested and convicted.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo sentenced 21-year old Isaiah Gore and 22-year old Denerio Williams to 30 months and 23 months in federal prison respectively.
During the hearing, Oppongagyare told the court that Gore recruited them to pick up the smuggled migrants in McAllen and transport them to San Antonio.
“Everyone involved in the scheme knew that wearing a uniform would assist in evading detection or arrest,” the judge noted, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
“A joint investigation later confirmed Oppongagyare, Saint-Joie, Williams and Palmer each served a role in the conspiracy as drivers who would travel to locations in Texas to transport the (migrants) in exchange for money. Authorities further confirmed that Gore actively recruited people to pick up undocumented (migrants),” the office added.
